SimCity finally getting offline mode

It couldn't be done, they said. Now they're doing it... nearly a year later.

At long last, Maxis finally announces offline play will be happening for SimCity by way of free update. That's right, Maxis general manager Patrick Buechner confirms SimCity Update 10 will include the revolutionary "Single Player Mode", said to allow one to actually play the game without an internet connection.

The secret sauce is that save files are stored locally on your very rig in Single Player Mode, instead of on the infinitely powerful cloud, allowing you to save and load your game outside of the purview of Origin. Note that this means your online games will probably be separate because Maxis wouldn't want you offline types "compromising the integrity of the Online game" with your saucy bookstore mods or whatever.

Snark aside, Maxis parent company EA's dogged insistence of forcing players to connect to the Origin service just to play SimCity (even if alone) lead to headaches all around when the title first launched in March last year. For starters, players had a rough time even getting into the game. Those who did survive the queue then had to put up with crashes and glitches. The technical issues were so bad EA eventually saw fit to compensateSimCity customers with free games by way of apology.

Buechner promises more details for Single Player Mode as the update draws closer to release.

After they got a new person in the lead they've made a few good decisions for their games, this was probably a long time coming as they already made a statement that they considered it a long time ago. I'm glad they are doing it, when it goes live I can play it on my laptop when the connection fails.

Too little too late. Unfortunately the game is still a wreck :\ because of the AI. Hopefully they actually listen to the community and make the game everyone wanted in the first place for SimCity 6. Even the new modding they're allowing will be pretty much "you can only re-texture things" limited.

I hope they aren't making the same mistakes with The Sims 4 as well or people will be all over them regarding that too.

Too little too late. Only time I'll consider buying this now is if it were heavily doors discounted.

Besides, I thought this game needed to connect to a server because of 'complex algorithms' that a desktop couldn't handle? EA kinda has always treated the PCPC platform like shit. Especially compared to the new consoles recently, which are apparently about 4 times more powerful than a gaming desktop.

Haha yea. After they released a statement with some absolute bullshit about system restraints etc, it was hacked a few days later and was playable in offline mode. I laughed so hard when I read that article.

EA put your PR people on a leash, the internet is full of incredibly intelligent and talented people. You say it's not possible in offline? You'll be proven wrong in a matter of days.

They've stated that larger cities aren't possible because of the engine. The game was probably designed around small cities so I don't think you'll ever see anything larger. Besides, traffic and agent AI is meh anyways :/

They've stated that larger cities aren't possible because of the engine. The game was probably designed around small cities so I don't think you'll ever see anything larger. Besides, traffic and agent AI is meh anyways :/

Actually, they said larger cities wouldn't run on your dad's computer, and they didn't want to create any regions that some people might not be able to play.

Some players also suggested a compromise, where not all cities would be squares, so that there would be more variation and challenge between different plots of land.